The sun struggled to send light through the hazy lens of clouds in the east of the early morning hours. What light that did get through yielded a vast frozen tundra that touched a warm and clear blue sky in the west. The cold and crisp air blew the snow across the land that had yet to find a permanent resting place.

Occasionally it would graze my cheeks. As I peered into the distance, I wondered if I'd ever find food again. Of course I would, for I was only 20 feet from my house.

What business did I have in the aftermath of snow storm Nemo? Well, the most obvious and intuitive answer would be to shovel snow but there resides a hidden agenda beneath. By the by, while I condone the concept of naming snow storms for easy future reference, I still feel strongly that the act of naming the storm should occur after the storm is over. That way the name can truly reflect the nature of the beast, or in this case, an animated clown fish.

So what was this hidden agenda I had? Well, I wanted to know if the act of shoveling snow would cripple, weaken, and fatigue me just as it had done when my infection of Lyme Disease was at its pinnacle. In the not too distant past, shoveling snow or cutting grass would exhaust me to no end. The Lyme Disease had completely hijacked my body and the energy a 24 year old was suppose to yield, no longer existed. Any type of physical exertion in the least bit would physical debilitate me. Muscle weakness would become rampant and fatigue would soon set in. After I unwillingly decided I could no longer continue shoveling snow or cutting the grass, I'd head inside to crawl back into bed and wonder where who I used to be, had gone.

But that was the past and things were different now. I have been on the Buhner protocol since August of 2012. Though there have been many indications that it was working, I never had a true gauge to determine if it really was; until now. I would shovel my entire driveway without the assistance of a snow blower. Pure manual labor. The labor that would give way to my debilitating symptoms in the past. I knew that by shoveling my entire driveway, I would know whether or not, hands down if the Buhner protocol was working.

25 minutes later, I was done with the driveway. Not only did I feel great and possessed no signs of physical debilitation, I had performed the physical labor minutes after taking my medicine and without eating breakfast. Despite the herbs coursing through my veins, increasing the chance of a flare up, and pulling energy reserves from yesterday's food, I was able to complete the task at hand. And in doing so, I concluded with the highest confidence and truest evidence that the Buhner protocol was in fact working.

The complete lack of physical debilitation was not the only true sign the Buhner protocol was effective. My memory has slowly started to return as well! As I was shoveling the snow, I was hit with the urge to write a blog when I was done, and immediately I began to think of what I would say. Would I remember what I wanted to write about once I was done shoveling the driveway? I would find out within an hour's time. Yes, I remembered exactly the thoughts I conjured while shoveling snow, that I would later write in this blog.

The warm blue sky to the West

So how does one know whether or not the treatment protocol for their Lyme Disease is working? I don't think there is an official method for determining. However, I have found that one can determine the progress of treatment by comparing specific activities from the past to the present. Simply recall a past activity that Lyme Disease found a way to cripple or hinder. Now, with caution and if you're up to the challenge, perform that same activity now. If you clearly notice an acceptable difference in how you physical and even mentally respond to the activity, you stand upon confident grounds to determine and conclude that your treatment protocol is effective.

It was revealed to me the other day just how I got to where I am today: I refused to accept my doctors' convictions.

It's understood that we request the knowledge of doctors to provide us with the answers we need to mend our health challenges. It's shamefully ironic that by refusing the convictions of my own doctors', I not only found the true cause of my debilitation, but I found the remedy.

I did what I needed to do to save my life. Though no one, or even I, may truly understand how peril my situation was, by pure dissent and never accepting the status quo as the answer, I found a way. By forming free thoughts and challenging the opinions of those never believed to be questionable. By using my brain's natural ability to reason, I could see the illogical fallacies so sternfully being passed as the truth. I refuted the advice of those I'd always listen to first, friends and family.

Because ultimately there is one goal for those battling Lyme Disease and it's to completely heal. Nothing more or nothing less. You are the only one that can understand the true nature of this yearning. Never let anyone criticize your methods and means to find the answers you so desperately need, no matter how radical they may be An unprecedented fight will inevitably require unprecedented critical thought, will, and self.

And even if you find yourself standing alone, keep pushing forward. It wouldn't be uncommon to be the only to believe in your understanding, but never let that deter your will. Sure we may be surrounded by friends and family, but the act of being surrounded won't heal you alone. You will need to break away from the crowd's expectations, and you may even hurt a few hearts, but this is your life you're trying to save, not theirs. Instincts need to take over societal expectations. That's what our bodies do in times of struggle in order to survive and preserve our existence for just a bit longer.